Edith M. Beck

Edith M. Beck 95, passed away on April 19, 2022. She was born on January 5, 1927.

She is survived by her son, Walter Beck, wife, Georgia; daughter, Carolyn (Beck) Jennings, husband, William; four granddaughters, Wendy, Becky, Rachael and Chelsea; grandson, Dean; thirteen great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

Edith was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. She was an Air Force WWII war bride, married in London, England, in 1949 and moved to the US in 1950; she became a US citizen in 1952. She had two children born while stationed at Selfridge AFB, Carolyn (1951) and Walter (1954).

As an Air Force wife, she moved several times with the military: Traverse City, MI; Milton, Upstate New York; Charlevoix, MI, Tripoli, Libya, North Africa; back to Charlevoix, MI; Topeka, Kansas; then finally full circle to Mt. Clemens, MI, near Selfridge AFB in 1965.

She was widowed in 1967. She went to work for Clinton Township offices in accounting. She had her dream home built in Charlevoix, MI (the house on the hill), left the Mt. Clemens area and moved to Charlevoix in 1979, where she had a few odd jobs until becoming the Boyne City Treasurer from November 1980 until January 1987. As a resident of Charlevoix and Assessor for Hayes Township, she continued enjoying and improving on her house until July of 2008, when she decided it was time to move South to Traverse City, MI. She found a retirement community and made many good friends, but her heart and son were in Charlevoix, so at age 89, she moved again to The American House Independent Living in Charlevoix, again gaining more friends as well as catching up with old friends.

All the while working and retirement, she continued to travel the world, visiting the southernmost point of the Americas, revisiting Europe and the UK several times, New Zeeland, plus three trips to Australia, as well as lots of Canada and US traveling both East, West and South. She was able to witness so many beautiful places, including Alaska and Hawaii. Traveling, reading and nature were her passions.

Tragically, Covid isolation and family illness made it necessary for one more move back downstate to Clinton Township, close to where her daughter lives in Harrison Twp. She lived at Church of Christ Assisted Living Facility, followed by a rehabilitation stay for a leg fracture (surgically repaired and healed at age 95!!) and then the C of CCC Nursing Home/Elara Caring Hospice following a pelvic fracture from several falls due to her dementia and her desire to be “on the go”.

We will miss you Edith, friend, mom, grandma, great-grandma and great-great-grandma!

People can make online gifts at www.Nature.org, then select Membership & Giving and Other Ways of Giving and finally, Memorials. From there you can enter Edith Beck and your credit card info. Direct link that will take you directly to the memorial page: https://preserve.nature.org/page/81523/donate/1

A Memorial Service will take place Wednesday, July 6 at 1:00 p.m. at the Charlevoix Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.  Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service.  

Arrangements are in the care of the Charlevoix Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.  Please sign her online guestbook www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com